Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. It's a brother's best friend romance with a lot of religious topics. If you're looking for something spicy, this might be for you!

This was another great installment in the Bell Brothers books. Sierra Simone always does interesting things with the intersections of faith and sexuality and this was no different. Sean and Zenny were a great pairing and I really enjoyed their dynamic. I also liked the tease to the third book with Aiden.

Definitely a lot going on with some really heavy plot points, including a past suicide of a family member and some heavy health stuff with an on-page character but I felt like it was all handled very respectfully.

With this series cannot speak highly enough how Sierra Simone talks about the complex intermingling of sex and religion and break the struggles of that down so simply and beautifully.
With Book 2 Sinner, we follow Sean Bell the millionaire playboy who needs to control everything and his chance encounter with his best friend Elijah’s little sister Zenny who is about to devote her life to God and become a nun. Sean is 15 years older than Zenny and he hasn’t seen her in a very long time because the rift between the Bell family and Elijah’s family. Even though Sean and Elijah maintained their friendship through the rift of the families which started on the day of Sean’s sister’s funeral. Since Lizzy’s death, Sean has sworn off the church and God becoming an atheist, and this is just the person Zenny needs to test her faith and her upcoming vows, so she brokers a deal with Sean to show her all the things she will miss and to try and give her doubt to her plan on becoming a nun. Can this sinner test and shake the faith of our postulant or will she be the one to bring him back to his knees and the rosary?
The one gripe I had with this book was how Sean kept harping on the age gap between him and Zenny. Yes, the age gap is a bit taboo especially with the context of the former closeness his family had with hers. However, with the fact he had not seen her in probably over a decade she is basically a stranger to him in their adulthood. Every chapter her would internally and externally verbalize how young she is, that it started to feel a little groomy when it didn’t need to be. We already have the age gap taboo and the bigger one with the sexual relationship with a nun, the age difference for my taste got taken a little to far. I can understand him being conflicted about it but clearly not that big of deal since he continued to have a sexual relationship with Zenny despite it. If that issue got cleared up more quickly could have devoted more time to in my opinion the bigger obstacle in their dynamic, Sean no longer believe in god and falling in love with someone who wants to forsake all other and devote her life to God.

“I know how to make sin feel like heaven.”
Synopsis: I’m not a good man. I’ve never pretended to be. I don’t believe in happily ever afters, goodness, or God. I believe in money, sex, and whiskey. They have words to describe a man like me. Womanizer, playboy, skirt chaser. My brother used to be a priest, and he only has one word for me. Sinner.

Thoughts:
Honestly, I wanted to love it but something was missing for me. The spice was amazing but it really lacked plot for me. Which sometimes is fine but the spice didn’t make up for the lack of plot for me. I think a reason I didn’t feel connected to the book was because it was almost specifically told in Seans point of view which made it difficult for me to connect with Zenny and she felt underdeveloped as a main character. Seans internal struggle was basically always with the fact that Zenny is younger than him, like yes she is but she's an adult now and you haven’t seen her in years… I didn’t find it super weird because I believe age gaps are fine as long as they aren’t under age or groomed. I am sad because I wanted to love this book but it just wasn’t for me because of the lack of plot and main female character development.

This book includes:
Age gap
sinner/nun
Best friends sister
forbidden/taboo romance
Virgin heroine

3/5 stars
4/5 spice

Thank you Sierra Simone, Bloom Books, and NetGalley for providing an arc for
an honest review.

I think this was definitely a let down compared to the first book. The spice was great, but the plot was less than mid.

This series is just not it for me. It might be other people's cup of tea but I for one, did not enjoy it.

What I Liked: This was such an emotional, powerful examination of the intersection between faith and sex. Simone is able to write discussions about religion and personal faith, immediately followed by an incredibly hot sex scene, and make it work. There isn’t a wasted word or line in the entire story, everything has a purpose. Sean is a perfect romance novel anti-hero. He isn’t a mean man, just jaded and flippant. He’s experienced immense loss and trauma in his life and his personality reflects this. In Zenobia, Simone has created a complex character who is the perfect foil to Sean. Her faith is important to her but she understands why Sean has lost his, and doesn’t push him to reconcile his issues with the church; instead she provides the support he needs without letting him take advantage of her kindness. On top of that, their chemistry is off the charts hot and their sex scenes are some of the best I’ve ever read. 

What I Didn’t Like: I had no issues with this book.

Who Should Read It: Anyone looking for an incredibly erotic story that mixes faith and romance will love this book.  Fans of this series and Simone will want to pick this one up as well. 

Review Wrap Up: This was one of the hottest romances I’ve read in a long time (no surprise, as Simone is a fantastic erotic writer) and the plot and characterization matches the hotness. Every character fits, the religious plotline works well, and Sean and Zenny are fantastic characters.  I highly recommend this book to erotic romance fans.

This book was definitely interesting. I was intrigued when I heard the concept of the book from all corners of Tik Tok. I found the concept of the book fascinating, but it took itself a bit too seriously for my own taste. I can see why a lot of people love this book, but it was not my personal favourite. I look forward to reading more of Sierra Simone's work in the future and hopefully enjoying it more than this one! I think there is potential here, ti just didnt speak to me this time specifically.

Sean Bell. That's it. That's the review. Sibling's Best Friend, She's almost a nun. Sex lessons. It just doesn't get better than that. While being sexy as anything, SINNER is still a magnificent read. The chemistry between Zenny and Sean is unmatched. I adore this book.

Sinner is an amazing mixture of holy and profane. It explores the taboo of sex and religion like her previous novel, but in so much more of a naughty way than ever before. Definitely a page turner of a book, and one that either makes you go and grab your partner or take a long cold shower.

I liked the characters and Sean's journey of personal growth. Not sure how believable I found the story, but I liked the writing style and it's fiction, so I rolled with it.

I liked this one more than the first book in the series. Zenny is one of my favorite romance characters I've ever read.

With this series cannot speak highly enough how Sierra Simone talks about the complex intermingling of sex and religion and break the struggles of that down so simply and beautifully.
With Book 2 Sinner, we follow Sean Bell the millionaire playboy who needs to control everything and his chance encounter with his best friend Elijah’s little sister Zenny who is about to devote her life to God and become a nun. Sean is 15 years older than Zenny and he hasn’t seen her in a very long time because the rift between the Bell family and Elijah’s family. Even though Sean and Elijah maintained their friendship through the rift of the families which started on the day of Sean’s sister’s funeral. Since Lizzy’s death, Sean has sworn off the church and God becoming an atheist, and this is just the person Zenny needs to test her faith and her upcoming vows, so she brokers a deal with Sean to show her all the things she will miss and to try and give her doubt to her plan on becoming a nun. Can this sinner test and shake the faith of our postulant or will she be the one to bring him back to his knees and the rosary?
The one gripe I had with this book was how Sean kept harping on the age gap between him and Zenny. Yes, the age gap is a bit taboo especially with the context of the former closeness his family had with hers. However, with the fact he had not seen her in probably over a decade she is basically a stranger to him in their adulthood. Every chapter her would internally and externally verbalize how young she is, that it started to feel a little groomy when it didn’t need to be. We already have the age gap taboo and the bigger one with the sexual relationship with a nun, the age difference for my taste got taken a little to far. I can understand him being conflicted about it but clearly not that big of deal since he continued to have a sexual relationship with Zenny despite it. If that issue got cleared up more quickly could have devoted more time to in my opinion the bigger obstacle in their dynamic, Sean no longer believe in god and falling in love with someone who wants to forsake all other and devote her life to God.

Overall Sinner was a delight. Very steamy but the plot doesn't take a back seat like in other spicy romance novels. However, it was like whiplash reading about sex, cancer, sex, mother dying, more sex. I could have done without the big downers of the story in order to enjoy other parts more. But I loved reading about the 2nd brother and I can't wait to read about the 3rd

I am so glad this series getting discreet covers! There is a lot spice and there are unique takes on religion in relation to sex. The book is meant to be incredibly smexy and it very much is but also provides great and deeply complex characters.

Oh my. I think I need a moment. Just when I think I can't read anything spicier... here comes Sierra Simone. Sinner follows Sean Bell, the brother of Tyler Bell from Priest. Sean is a workaholic, materialistic, playboy until he meets a nun in training, Zenny. Zenny wants to be sure she is making the right choice by devoting her life to the church and she only has one month to find out what else is out there... and boy, does Sean show her.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for a review.

I loved Priest for the spice but not so much for the characters and stories. I loved Sinner for the characters, the plot and the spice. This was phenomenal. The way Sierra addresses religious trauma and adds in spice??? LORD.

Thank you #netgalley for a read of #sinner by #sierrasimone in exchange for my honest review

Sean was such an interesting character to read through because he has such complex emotions. As the second oldest sibling in his family, Sean has done his best to keep himself together for the sake of the rest of his family after the loss of his older sister when he was a child. His unresolved grief from his sisters death and his struggle with his dying mother, you truly feel for him. When he has his sights set on his best friends younger sister, Zenny, things become even more complicated for him - especially since Zenny plans to become a nun. Simone’s writing is done so lyrically and beautifully, even the most sexual encounters between the main characters has heart and angst. Loved it!